Drink a bunch of water and get facials regularly. I take care of my skin.

I remembered that throughout my growing up and education and pursuing my dreams and desires, going into acting, and, of course, getting through Yale University and on and on and on, that being average, being mediocre was not an option that you should be proud of.

This is a career about images. It's celluloid; they last for ever. I'm a black woman from America. My people were slaves in America, and even though we're free on paper and in law, I'm not going to allow you to enslave me on film, in celluloid, for all to see.

In feature film world I'm very much...a hired hand. It's a world of Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Mel Gibson - they're able to produce and to star and it's, that's not my world.

I guess I'm breaking out a little of what's comfortable and easy.

Don't settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had. We need to live the best that's in us.

Of course you want to do all the research that you can, but it's impossible to take a life and the boundaries of an hour and a half, so there is hope there will be understanding about that also.